Framed!

It’s Friday. Time to reconnect with my Poetry Friday friends. Oh joy!

Here are two pic-poems captured last weekend when we had our bikes (horrors begorrors!) out cycling – then swimming – on a gorgeous day in Agnes Water. (It’s been a long journey through frozen shoulder, but it is good to finally feel safe on a bike again – though I’m sticking to the beaten track, this time!)

 

Not my sunnies, in that second pic. (Not my hubby’s, either.) But the glasses that were on my face can’t have been too good – ’cause I didn’t even see them until I was home again! I love this random photo! (Though I do feel sorry for the loser of the glasses. I wonder if we maybe even chatted at this spot.)

Thanks Heidi, for hosting us, and sharing a juicy array of poetry from the kids. There are so many treasures there, so do skip (swim or cycle) across and enjoy.

Have a sunshiny week!

Fridays Come FAST!

Oh man. It’s Friday again! How fast they come around!! And I have missed a few, as I’ve been travelling with author events, ending with a 3hr Poetry Professional Development workshop for educators, hosted by ALEA (Australian Literary Educators Association) Central Queensland. What a perfect way to round off such a busy start to the school year!

I cannot tell you how good it was to be out talking books, poetry, creativity and passion! I feel like I’ve been put back together again – with a splash of gold, even.

I’m still taking a photo-a-day, but I haven’t written many pic-poems, as I’ve come back from my events with clarity on a verse novel project, and inspiration for a number of picture books, too. So, I’m just a little keen to focus on those, and harness the moment! But here is a selection, mostly from my time away …

Hoping your creative cup is being filled, too.  Pop across to Linda, at Teacher Dance for more Poetry Friday goodness!  But first… some more pics from my travels.

 

 

Joy in Words – and Pics!

Hello! Again. Since I’m still pottering along with my 365 #photoaday challenge – and adding poetry into the mix, I thought I’d pop in and share again. I know they’re not brilliant. But I’m really enjoying this play with creativity purely for the fun of it. I hadn’t realised how much I needed this. But this is me; joy in words. (And photos!)

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Oops. Taken by the beauty. Not a photo-a-day prompt.

Thanks so much Mary Lee for hosting us today, at A(nother) Year of Reading. And thank-YOU for popping along and being such an awesome community of friends and poets! (And inspiring me with your elfchens, last week!)

Can I just share some last ‘bonus’ pics with you before I leave? Because that rain… It did come. And our big dam is full! I have spent many hours out on my kayak during golden hour, this week. It’s been gorgeous! The birds are tricky to capture on my phone – but the beauty is not. (It’s just been a wrangle getting them from my phone to my computer! Gargh!)

Have a wonderful week, whatever the weather! I suspect we may be in for more rain – because it’s another steamy day here. Hoping our road stays open into the next week (it closed for two days this past week), as I have places to be!🙃

Photo a Day – Just Add Poetry

Hello friends. I’ve been quiet. I still will be. I just seem to have hit that stage where I am stretched in too many directions, and can’t do all that I used to do. Even the things I love (!) – like Poetry Friday.

But this week, I started adding poetry to my #photoaday challenge (that I’ve been quietly pottering along, doing with a friend, nurturing my creativity). And since we all love poetry (and I will always be missing my Poetry Friday friends) I thought I’d share a couple. I’m usually a perfectionist poet – but these are an exercise in minimalistic creativity. Purely for the joy of it. Some poetry forms you might recognise; tetractys, haiku, cinquain (didactic) and nonsense. 🙂

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Thanks Susan at Chicken Spaghetti for hosting today’s Poetry Friday round-up. And thanks to you, lovely peeps, for popping over and having a read. 🙂

Friends are Like…

This week I had the joy of catching up with lovely librarian Louise Brooks. That’s always fun – but this was especially noteworthy, because Louise and her  hubby were on the Discovery Coast, and I was able to catch up with them by the beach (I took the above photograph from the shore, that same afternoon) – and then, next day, welcome them to our (very dry) farm.

I’ve met Louise’s lovely hubby numerous times before – but to have them meeting my husband, too has strengthened an already beautiful friendship.

As a regional author, I love where I live! But I’m currently struggling with some aspects of isolation. A run of rejections on projects hasn’t helped. To have someone who is an encouragement and advocate, not just to me, but to so many Australian authors, in my backyard, and in my home… It was soul-good!

This post is linking in with Poetry Friday. You’ll find all the October link-ups here;

6 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
13 Catherine at Reading to the Core
20 Bridget at wee words for wee ones
27 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard

Poems Between Friends

I’m popping in with a Poetry Swap package all the way from Southern California. I only took part in one Poetry Swap this season. And it was a right choice. Because when I wasn’t writing Poetry Swaps, I was writing picture books. Two rhyming manuscripts that have winged their way to publishers, and I’m feeling chuffed… and hopeful. Submissions – but not yet acceptances. (Not setting myself up for disappointment!) But I’m glad I hadn’t committed to more swaps, or I probably wouldn’t have had that little snippet of (unexpected) time and inspiration to write with such joy.

But by the same token, I was so glad that I *did* have a poetry swap! Because there is nothing quite like crafting a poem for a friend. A friend who gets poetry! It is a true gift that Tabatha gives us year after year, and I cannot convey how much I love it! (AND Tabatha is hosting the Poetry Friday link-up today. How perfect!🙃)

I always have such joy in the creating, that I completely forget that someone is doing the same for me! But look at this joy-burst Denise sent me! I can just SEE the fun she had in the making!

I especially love that cow!

I really loved the way Denise closed her accompanying letter. ‘Blessings to you this Winter day!’ Yep – it’s winter here. Thank you for noticing, Denise. Your package was received with delight!

You can see my poem for Denise on her blog. (It’s a wee-bit prickly.)

Thank-you to all the Poetry Friday peeps who found me on my new Substack space last week. I’ll be there again next Friday. The plan is to post to my Substack on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Friday of the month. The 1st Friday of the month will be deliberately pitched to Poetry Friday. But sometimes other newsletters will too (since the space is where I’ll be talking picture books, poetry and verse novels) – so I’ll link in as it fits. 🙂 I’m still getting to know that space – but I’m not stressing it! Slow and steady is my pace.

Have a great week!

Cloud Nine

A picture speaks a thousand words. Here are four pics, that speak to my week.

And despite the fact that Tanita is hosting the Poetry Friday round-up today at {fiction, instead of lies}, not a word of my post is fiction, or lies. 🙃

 

Feathers and Wings

Well – the wheels fell off my blogging cart – again. Blame ongoing computer issues. (Turns out replacement Mac parts aren’t actually new – just refurbished. And my replacement logicboard was faulty, so another stint in the repair shop.) And another fall… I’d only been out of the collarbone sling for 2wks!🤦‍♀️ No breaks this time, but I scored a whole lot of other bumps and bruises. And, alas, the shoulder still isn’t doing all that it ought… Needless to say I’ve been so far behind with everything. And a tad overwhelmed. But I’m getting there! And I have even managed to squeeze in some writing time. Which was a relief! (At last!!) I’ve delved into a new verse novel project, completed a rhyming non-fiction picture book draft, polished an older PB, and prepped for upcoming workshops. Which wow – I hadn’t realised I’d actually managed all that. I’m encouraged!

For today, I want to share this poem I ‘wrote’ for precious friends as a farewell gift last month. Perhaps there are others who will be encouraged or comforted by these assurances. (I know I’ve been carried on eagle wings and sheltered by feathers in recent months, and I’ve been so thankful for God’s love and presence.)

The trimeric is the perfect poetry form for digging into Bible promises. If you’re intrigued by the gently unfolding trimeric form, you can read more here. And you’ll find my ‘Fear Not‘ meerkat trimeric here.

Thank-you to the lovely Carol who is hosting Poetry Friday this week at Beyond LiteracyLink.

New Year – New Logic Board

Happy New Year!

My 2022 ended with a little stress – my computer crashed… A failed logic-board, meaning that I was completely reliant on my back-ups. To be honest, my initial feeling was relief. I’d really struggled to get to a creative place, typing one-handed, so I wasn’t sorry not to try anymore. I was mildly concerned that I may have lost what little work I’d done over the past 6wks – no knowing when I’d last backed-up – but I was hopeful I had something, atleast…

Christmas passed, and after a two-week tech-break, it was time to power up the revamp Mac. ⚠️⛔️⚠️ The new logic-board didn’t recognise my TimeMachine back-up disk!!! It looked like the disk was corrupt; 2+years of work… gone! (😱) Then … when we’d tried everything, and AppleCare was convinced it was a failed drive (Gaaaah!) they noticed that the new logic-board was still running on an outdated operating system. It was not compatible with my up-to-date Time Machine back-up, and therefore couldn’t recognise it. After 36hrs of stress (!!) and 6hrs of updates, I was finally able to restore all my old data. (Persistence pays!) AND I had run a back-up just 2wks prior to the crash, so very little was lost! (I even surprised myself, with that!)

Two things worth nothing:

1) If buying a Mac, buy AppleCare! This is my second Mac that has crashed out of warranty, but covered by AppleCare. (This was a 2yo machine, so I do find that concerning… But better to be covered than not.)

2) If at first your Time Machine data recovery doesn’t work… Update!

In other news, the New Year saw me released from my sling. Now trying to free up the frozen shoulder, and so glad I can type again!

Next week I’m thinking to revisit the Poetry Pep-up prompts from 2020. If anyone wants to join me for a 5-day pep-up, you’d be very welcome! Let me know in the comments. I’m thinking to create a padlet, for those who want to share poems and chat, but that’s optional. I’m keeping it low-key; a creative play with poetry friends.

Thanks to Catherine at Reading to the Core who is hosting our first Poetry Friday round-up for 2023. Sync or float – I hope it’s smooth sailing.🙃

DIY Nativity Story Stones

I love this simple story-stones activity in the lead-up to Christmas. I’m just wishing I thought of it when my boys were small – they’d have made a lovely, sentimental keepsake – and they’d be adorable painted in a child’s hand!

My first set is more detailed – and has more pieces. I was having so much fun (I did these in the early days of my broken collarbone!) that I thought I’d try a simpler version – hence the second set. (Click the pic for larger images.)

It’s kind of cool to match the shape of the rock to a suitable image. Would definitely recommend – for kids or adults. 🙂

I paired my story stones with the book; ‘The Christmas Baby‘, by Sally Ann Wright and Honor Ayres.

The activity can be extended further with these really cute DIY Finger Puppets, by Paul Hallam.

This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Karen Edmisten*. Thanks Karen!

The Gift

Baby
in a manger,
snugly swaddled, 
surrounded by
earthy aromas of
dust and straw,
musky animal scents;
  oxen,
    donkey,
      chickens ...

Lowly
shepherds,
unkempt 
        outcasts
garbed in workwear,
flock to
the babe,
as wise men
in faraway places
make plans
to lavish
gifts upon
the Christ Child.

Grateful 
for a place
to rest,
Mary and Joseph
wonder at
the miracle;

   Jesus.

© Kathryn Apel ~ All rights reserved.

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas season.